FL 18th Annette Taddeo won Blue America's contest...received $15,813.

[madfloridian]

I was watching this contest, seeing who supported these Blue America candidates who are not receiving DCCC support in the Red to Blue program.

From an email just now from her campaign.

We won the Blue America online contest with 557 votes, 161 more than any other candidate!

Thanks to you – we banked $15,813 and became the #1 candidate across all of ActBlue.

Thank you to all who voted by contributing $1 or more – and thank you to those who had friends and family vote. Your small contributions and your relentless grassroots outreach made a big difference!

Thank you so much for your support,

Annette Taddeo

More from Down with Tyranny on the contest today.

What all of these candidates have in common is that each is a solid progressive and that none are in the DCCC Red to Blue program yet. That program is a signal to wealthy and to institutional Democratic donors that the party bosses are taking the race seriously and it makes it much easier for the campaigns to raise money. We figured that candidates not on the list were the ones who need our help the most right now...

....All but one of our 9 candidates-- the exception being Jared Polis, who's running for an open seat in Colorado-- are up against entrenched incumbents. But each of the entrenched incumbents has been a dependable Bush rubber stamp and each is vulnerable on explosive issues like high gasoline prices, the war in Iraq, and substandard health care. Many of them-- like Dennis Shulman's, Annette Taddeo's and Barry Welsh's opponents, respectively Scott Garrett, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mike Pence-- are extreme right-wing ideologues, far beyond the mainstream and completely out of sync with the voters in their own districts. But none of our candidates' opponents are moderates and, although some try to portray themselves otherwise, each has a disgraceful voting record at great variance with their constituent's best interests. And each is massively well-financed, primarily by the corporate special interests whose business has been as well attended to as the district's has been all but ignored.

Taddeo and family

I have watched this race closely also because of the deliberate refusal of Debbie Wasserman Schultz to even mention her name..much less donate to her campaign.

Man, Debbie Wasserman Schultz never seems to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. A busy bee at Monday morning's breakfast for the Florida delegation to the Democratic National Convention, she nonetheless made a glaring omission:

"I’ve given 2,500 dollars to Joe Garcia, 5,000 dollars to Raul Martinez. I will be involved in their campaigns and supportive of them," said Wasserman Schultz. "I haven't been asked to be an attack dog. I am supporting Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia, and I’m looking forward to their successful election on Nov. 4."

Kossacks know exactly what I'm talking about: Deb forgot to mention progressive fighter Annette Taddeo, running for Congress in Florida's 18th congressional district. Now, I'm thrilled that DWS has changed her tune and is openly backing Garcia and Martinez.(Remember, she previously tried to recuse herself from these races, despite being co-chair of the DCCC's Red to Blue program.)

But I must give kudos, big kudos to Chris Van Hollen of the DCCC for sending some money and best wishes to these candidates. Here is the note from him at Down With Tyranny.

Please offer my thanks to the Blue American community for their continued help to our Democratic candidates. Mobilizing grassroots supporters is crucial in our campaign to strengthen and secure the Democratic Majority. The outpouring of support that the Blue America community has shown this week for our Democratic candidates for change has been particularly exciting. I am pleased to match Blue America's $5,000 contribution to the winner of your "Vote For A Blue America Candidate" contest. I thank you for your continuing support in securing a New Direction for America.

Warm Regards,

Chris Van Hollen
Chairman

Now THAT is called reaching out to the grassroots.

Congratulations to Annette Taddeo.

[madfloridian]

1. Update from Down With Tyranny on Annette Taddeo's win.

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2008/09/annette-taddeo-wins-blue-america.html